Yarn winding machine with tail looping eliminator



YARN WINDING MACHINE WITH TAIL LOOPING ELIMINATOR Filed June 21, 1954 g @NW 3% Q 2 ill! '1 w ll" X N 3.

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United States Patent huh YARW G EEACHINE WITH TAIL LGOPING ELIft-HNATOR Ernest 1. Dodge, Charlotte, N. (3., assignor to Foster P/iaehine ornpany, Westfield, Mass a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 21, 1954, Serial No. 438,181

9 Claims. (ill. 24227) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in yarn winding machines and particularly machines Winding successive packages and starting each package with a free end of the yarn supply.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious here- L the invention and together with the description serve to I explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation, with portions removed, of a winding station, showing the start of a winding operation with the yarn tail hanging below the spindle;

Figure 2 is a top elevation showing adjacent winding spindles with the tail looping eliminators in position, one eliminator being partially in section; and

Figure 3 is an end view of the spindle and eliminator.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a novel and improved yarn winding machine especially adapted to control and guide the free end of the yarn supply during the winding operation and particularly at the start of the winding operation and avoid and eliminate tail looping and related interferences by the yarn free end with the yarn winding operation. Another object is the provision of a tail looping eliminator which is simple and relatively inexpensive in construction, reliable in operation and readily adaptable to a wide variety of winding machines.

In yarn winding machines of the type in which the yarn is wound onto a core extending the full length of the package after the yarn is clamped between the cop and the spindle or otherwise secured for winding and the yarn is cut to release the previously wound quill, the tail or free end of the yarn is rapidly rotated with the spindle and cop and in flying around may loop around the yarn being fed to the cop or may loop in an undesirable manner into the yarn layers being wound.

The present invention relates to a tail looping eliminator which may be added to existing winding machines to direct the yarn tail away from the yarn being wound.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the eliminator is shown as mounted on the Winding machine frame structure adjacent the head, or live, winding spindle, and comprises a hollow cone frustum surrounding the driving spindle with the small end of the frustum facing the tail center and overlapping the spindle flange against which the yarn is clamped by the foot of the cop. Vertically aligned axially extending slots or grooves across the small end of the eliminator guide the yarn, the upper groove is shallow and guides the supply portion of the yarn and the lower groove is deeper and guides the free or tail portion of the yarn. The upper groove terminates axially an appreciable distance on the tail center side of the plane of the spindle flange while the lower groove terminates axially on the spindle side of that plane. A pin or projection extends generally radially inward from the inner surface of the cone to adjacent the package core and provides a yarn guiding surface located axially of the core between the plane of the spindle flange and the radial plane of the bottom of the upper yarn guiding groove.

As the spindle rotates the lower groove and the yarn guiding surface of the radially extending pin will guide the free or tail end of the yarn preventing it from flying around and looping and at the same time winding it onto the rotating core spaced well away from the supply which is guided by the bottom of the upper groove.

As indicated above, this invention may be applied to existing machines. Much of the machine detail has therefore been omitted to more clearly show and distinctly point out the invention. For details of machines on which this invention may be applied reference may be made to the machine shown in Reiners Patent No. 2,234,355 or to the machine shown in Muschamp application Serial No. 181,981 filed August 29, 1950, for Automatic Yarn Winding Machines on which this invention may be considered an improvement. it will of course be understood that these machines are referred to as examples and not as limitations, the invention being limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Referring now in detail to the present preferred and illustrative embodiment of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawings the machine shown comprises a base or frame it having a spindle box 12 at one end of the frame and a tail stock support 14 at the other end of the frame. The spindle box 12 supports the driving mechanism for the live spindles l6 and 18 and may include well-known mechanism for rotating those spindles. The tail stock support 14 supports the tail stock 20 for free rotation and for reciprocating movement. The tail stock is normally ugred towards the spindle 16 in a wellknown manner and may be retracted by mechanism acting upon the retracting collar 22, the mechanism being wellknown such as that shown in the above mentioned patent and application. As shown, the spindle 16 carries a center 24 adapted to receive and center one end of a cop or core 26, the other end of which is shown as retained in a recess 29 in the tail stock center 21 with the cop 26 thus supported between the live center 24 and the tail center 21. Rotation of the spindle 16 will rotate the cop for winding yarn thereon.

The yarn 28 is guided from a suitable source through a yarn guide 36 to the cop during the winding operation. In the mechanism shown the yarn guide 3% is reciprocated in a well known manner to impart the building movement to the yarn and guide the yarn onto the cop. At the completion of the Winding operation the yarn guide support 32 will contact the trip 34 and initiate the movement of the automatic dofiing and donning mechanism, none of which is shown in this application as it is well known in the art and an understanding of the details thereof is not necessary in the explanation of this tail loop eliminator.

As is well known in the art, between the dofling and donning operations, the yarn guide 353 is brought back to adjacent the foot 36 of the cop 26 and the yarn may be further guided and positioned in its return travel by mechanism such as a collector fork.

A frame member 38 extends transversely under the spindles 16 and 18 and is secured to the frame it Mounted on the frame member 38 is a bent arm 40, one for each spindle. One end of the arm is secured to cross beam 42 by screws 44 passing through a slot in the bent arm 40. A sleeve 46 constituting the main portion of the eliminator surrounds each spindle and is secured to the other end of bent arm 40 by screws 48 passing through another slot in bent arm 40. By means of the screws 44 and 48, sleeve 46 may be adjusted axially and transversely of its associated spindle and positioned coaxially with the spindle. Sleeve 46 is in the shape of a hollow cone frus tum tapered externally and internally with the small end adjacent the center 24 but extending beyond the center 24 toward the tail stock 20. 'The sleeve 46 is provided with an axially extending slot or cut-out portion 50 across the upper sideof the small diameter end and is provided with an axially extending slot 52 across the lower side of its small diameter end. These two slots are diametrically opposite and are arranged vertically .above' and below the center 24. The slot 50 terminates at a point appreciably nearer the tail stock than the plane of spindle flange 54 while the slot 52 terminates vertically under or on the spindle side of the plane of spindle flange 54.

Adjacent slot 52 of sleeve 46 there is provided a pin 56 extending radially inward to a point adjacent the cop to be wound and located adjacent to the spindle flange 54 but spaced from the face of the spindle flange a short distance towardthe tail stock.

In operation, the yarn supply 28, when it is brought back to the spindle between the dofling and donning operations, is guided into the slots 50 and 52, the new cop is donned and clamps the yarn 28 between the foot 36 of the cop and the face of the spindle flange 54 in a wellknown manner. The yarn is then severed in the'usual manner, by mechanism such as the shears 58, and the winding operation is then started. The tail 60 of the yarn 28 is now confined in the slot 52 and hangs down by gravity from its clamped position between the foot 36 of the cop and the face of the spindle flange 54. As the cop rotates in a clockwise direction as is viewed in Figure 3, the tail 60 will be guided by the slot 52 and restrained from flying around with the spindle. Rotation of the cop will draw the'tail 60 onto the spindle side of pin 56 and thus the tail 'will be guided and held against movement axially of the cop.. Hence with the slot 52 preventing free rotation of the free or tail end 60 with the rotating core 26 and with the pin 56 preventing free movement of the free or tail end 60 longitudinally of the core,the tail end'is itself wound around the foot'36 of the cop and is thus prevented from looping into the yarn being'wound. While the tail or free end is being guided by the slots 52 and pin 56 and being wound onto the foot 36 of the cop 26, the yarn supply 28 is guided by the slot 50 so as to keep it on the tail stock side of the tail end 60 while it is being wound so that the tail end will be wound entirely clear of the yarn being fed to the cop.

The yarn guide 30 will then take up its function of reciprocating the yarn supply in its building movement as the package is formed. The tailor free end of the yarn will thus be wound on the extreme end of the cop or core entirely separated from the yarn supply and in a position where the reciprocation of the yarn supply in its building movement will be unable to come into contact with the free end. The free end will thus be confined to a position on the cop where it can create no' interference with the winding operation but where it will be removed from the machine with the removal of the cop andcreate no problem catching on the machine when the cop is defied. It will be understood that the eliminator and the cop and package are so proportioned that the completed package may be automatically dofied without interference from the eliminator.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the princiv ples of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

1. Means for eliminating looping of the tail end of a filament at the start of winding a filament onto a core comprising a first guide extending longitudinally of said core adjacent said tail end to prevent free rotation of a said tail end with said rotating core and a second guide extending transversely of said core adjacent said tail end to prevent free movement of said tail end axially of said core.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the first guide comprises an element extending under said core and having a slot directed longitudinally of said core for receiving said filament tail end.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the first guide comprises a sleeve fixed against rotation surrounding the starting end of said core and having a slot beneath said corefor receiving said tail end and a slot above said core for receiving the filament to be wound.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which the upper slot is of less axial extent'than the lower slot.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which the boting of said free end during winding comprising a slotted stationary guide surrounding the core adjacent the clamped portion of said filament adapted to receive said free end in said slot, a guide adjacent said slot located at the core side of said clamped portion whereby said free end will be guided around said core adjacent said clamped portion 7. In a winding machine for producing a wound package by winding a filament onto a core held between centers in which the filament is clamped adjacent one end of the core for rotation with the core with a free end of the filament protruding, means for eliminating looping of said free end during winding comprising a non-rotating member having a slot adapted to receive said free end adjacent the clamped portion of said filament and prevent free rotation of said free end with said rotating core, a guide adjacent said slot holding said free end against movement axially of said core whereby said free end will be guided around said core adjacent said clamped portion.

8. In an automatic winding machine having ,a filament supply guide guiding a filament for producing a wound package by winding the filament onto a core in which the filament is clamped for rotation with the core at an intermediate portion of the filament with a free end of the filament protruding from the core, means for eliminating looping of the free end during winding comprising a separate guide for said free end, and means' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,624,519 Griefcn Jan. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 28,101 Great Britain Dec. 6, 1913 1 7 638,619 Great Britain .June 14, 1950 

